Liu Bolin was born in 1973 in the Chinese province of Shandong. He finished his studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing with a Master of Fine Arts in 2001. His works have been shown in museums across the world ever since, and he rapidly made a name for himself as “The Invisible Man”. His best-known photographs are from the Hiding in the City series, which began as action art in 2005.

Bolin belongs to the young Chinese generation that grew up in the 1990s, when China had recovered from the effects of the Chinese Revolution to become an uprising economic power. The era was marked by economic growth and political stability.

His first solo show in Beijing in 1998 garnered international interest and many solo exhibitions followed, including in the Galerie Bertin Toublanc in Paris (2007), Eli Klein Fine Art in New York (2008), and the Forma Foundation in Milan (2010). Bolin was also part of the world’s largest contemporary photography festival, Les Rencontres d’Arles.

In March 2012, a photo series was photographed with designers from Missoni, Lanvin, Valentino, and Gaultier for Harper’s Bazaar magazine, where the artist camouflaged himself in front of patterns and materials typical for each label.